Blursday

There are many occasions where I actually loose track of what day it is.  Yesterday at the gym I was trying to figure out why the class I wanted to take wasn't in the room it was scheduled for.  Eventually the attendant pointed out that the class was on Thursday not Friday.  I really thought  the day WAS Thursday.  Ugh! 

When you are retired, it is nice not really needing to be at any certain place at any particular time.  









During the winter months I think the days (and weeks) do all seem to run together and it is a little harder to keep track of the time.

Line Dance Day 2/17 -  I was up for three hours in the middle of the night, unable to sleep, so spent the time finishing last week's Blog post and starting this week's.  When I walked Maggie at 4am there was a dusting of snow on the deck and rooftops.  The high for the day only got to 38°.  Winter had moved in for the weekend.  Blah.  I napped from 5 to 8 and then felt like the day was half over when I got back up.   

←  Little Miss Stevie  ↓







I was moving slowly because I had hurt my right hamstring and gluteals, tripping over the hose while gassing up my car yesterday.  This also aggravated my already stiff neck and upper back.  While stepping over the hose, I caught my toe.  I didn't fall down, but whatever I did to catch myself, certainly strained some things.  I ended up not making it to the gym in time for the line dance class, and I had to modify my leg workout quite a bit.  Afterwards, I tried doing extra stretching of all my sore, tight muscles. 


This photo was taken nine years ago, the day after I adopted Stevie, who was a one year old cat at the time.

When I got home from the gym, I tried Icy Hot on my neck and between my shoulder blades, but didn't get much relief. 

I didn't get my un-decorating done as hoped, but I did do a load of laundry and cooked the pork loin, potatoes and onions Kathy had left at the ranch house.  Patty joined us for dinner on her way home from doing chores.  

I sat with a heating pad on my neck while watching two episodes of Suits and then took a pain sleep aid at bedtime.

Day of Rest 2/18 - I needed a day off from physical activity to see if it would help all my sore, strained muscles.  I also took Aleve to help curb the pain.  Everyday seems to be a day of rest for the cats.

It actually wasn’t a total day of rest because I had chores at the ranch and my weekly Sunday chores here at the house.  Also, I really wanted to get the rest of my Christmas decorations down and put away, which I did.

 

I took down all the remaining Christmas/winter decorations, which were on the kitchen window, fireplace mantle, and in my office/cattery/sun room. 

I got everything organized and stowed away in appropriate boxes and all this stuff out of the guest bedroom and into the attic on the backside of the bunk room.  It feels great to get this all cleaned up.

I also took the lights off of the blue spruce outside our garage side door.  I will miss all the festive lights but I’m ready to get on with spring and summer.

Grumpy face Stevie, not happy with me finding her in the Chewy box and waking her when taking her photo?  














After feeding horses at the ranch, I did a little more work on my trail.  Well, I actually worked longer than I realized, and it was after 5pm when I quit.  I figure a little each day will eventually get the trail finished.  This photo shows the 'trail head' off the little path from our back gate, that goes under the lookout tower out to Hathaway.  I am keeping it 'rustic' looking so as not to reveal the new trail just yet.

I hit Food City on the way home and added a slice of meat loaf to the leftover veggies from the night before.

President's Day 2/19 - Guess who showed up at dinner time for the first time in almost a month?   Rose! 
And she is the only thing I photographed all day.

I was two hours at the gym, and had ham and eggs that Joe grilled for lunch before we went to the ranch.  Joe helped me saw some big tree limbs and little trees down as we did more clearing for my trail.  Then Karen and I went on an easy little trail ride.  I was glad Amiga only favored her sore leg while going up a small hill.  My neck and back were hurting worse than her leg. 

 Joe mentioned seeing Rose while walking Maggie after dinner, so I went out to feed her.  I hadn't seen her since the evening of January 24th when she walked with Maggie and I while snow was starting to accumulate (and we ended up getting 8 inches).  It was the beginning of the eight days straight where the temperature was never above freezing.  Rose looked great, well cared for, and I was so glad to see her.

Joe and I watched three episodes of Suits tonight.
 

Wellness Exam Day 2/20 - Since my doctor's appointment was at 2:15, and is right by the gym, I went to workout later than usual.  So I had time to work on this jigsaw puzzle for awhile.

I passed my wellness exam with flying colors.  In fact, my back and hips are no longer rated as osteoporosis (but osteopenia) so have improved remarkably.  Once home I finished the murder mystery I've been reading for a few months now.  
It was three episodes of Suits again tonight.
 

Farrier Day 2/21 - I was at the ranch at 8am to bring all the horses in, three for Chris (the farrier) and we needed a stool sample from all four of them.  I set up stalls with water and hay and then went to get Amiga first.

I let Amiga graze for a few minutes since she had come up to me out in the pasture.  Wanda was following me around complaining that I didn't feed her first.  She can be seen in this second photo I took when I was bringing Zorro in next.

   

Bonnie and Susan arrived just as I was getting ready to bring Cowboy in.  Today was also Bonnie's birthday. 





Susan did a Facebook post of Bonnie on Cowboy, to wish her a Happy Birthday.  She took this photo last Friday, of Bonnie's first ride (since her ladder accident June 8th).  Susan also made a wonderful rum cake for Bonnie that we all enjoyed. 

There was still over an hour before Chris was due to arrive, so I went and worked on my trail.  My elbows (along with my neck) were hurting from all the raking by the time I needed to get back to the barn.

Amiga had produced manure in her stall and Susan collected that sample.  But none of the boys had pooped yet.  I worked Banner in the round pen, hoping to get his bowels moving.  Patty arrived and held Zorro for his trim.  Then while Amiga was being shod (I also had shoes put on the back for riding season) Zorro had pooped.  So Amiga and Zorro were free 'to go' but we were still waiting on Banner and Cowboy.  Susan worked Cowboy in the round pen and finally got what they needed and I took Banner for a walk.  Chris had mentioned putting him on the trailer (it often does the trick even with colicky horses) but the trailer wasn't accessible.  So I walked Banner into the shop, kind of a scary place.  He was very calm, but it produced what we had been waiting for. 

With all four fecal samples bagged, labeled, and in my cooler, we headed for I-40 (Patty driving) and picked up Karen and continued on to Dr. Perry's. 

Our next stop was lunch (in town) and then after dropping Karen off at her car, Patty and I went back to the ranch.  This photo was taken after I had finished chores early, including fluffing the hay in the round bale feeder. 





I did feeding chores early at home also and then Joe and I headed to Lake Tansi bar and restaurant for dinner and music.  Allen and Jones were on the venue and I thought it was Jeff Allen with a new partner.  Nope it was not.  So there was only one song that five of us ladies were able to get up to dance to.  However, this duo was fun and we enjoyed their sound and songs.

Shirley's Surgery Day 2/22 - It was a blustery spring like morning with thunderstorms and really strong winds predicted for after dinner time.  AT&T was down most the morning so I had no phone service or text ability and had been trying to get a hold of my doctor's office to return a call about an appointment they had made.  So I kind of stayed stationed at my computer longer than I had planned.  AT&T finally fixed the problem and I made text messages and phone calls.  I heard from Patty that Shirley’s surgery went very well and the initial test results were good and she was recovering nicely.  Fantastic news.  As it turns out, my doctor scheduled me for a colonoscopy in June, so now I’m already dreading that.

By the time I got finished at my desk, it was nearly lunch time and I was hungry.  So I ate a heavy/big lunch of leftovers.  I had decided the gym could wait until after the ranch.  











Yesterday Joe had fixed a fence board that was warped and came off the post.  I have no doubt as to who the culprit is.  ←  ↑  ↓



You know what they say, the grass is always greener on the other side.  Not only do I know who is hard on our fencing, I am also fairly sure this is why Amiga's mane is broken off in the middle of her neck right where you see the board hitting it in this photo. 

I had gone to the ranch to get doors shut before the coming storms.  I fed chickens, fluffed hay, and shut both shop doors.  Then I went into the back woods to work on my trail some more.  
Mountain view also includes a horse view. 

Amiga and Banner grazing happily. 

I worked for a few hours until I heard Brooke yell for the horses.  She took this (video) as they came running in.  It was time for me to quit and get a move on so I could get to the gym in time for a workout.

Well, I had used up much of my energy, so didn't have a stellar workout, but did give it a shot for two hours.  I got home at 6:00 and was watching Suits with Joe by 7pm.

End of Week Day 2/23 - I saw this coyote getting a drink from the creek, but it had started to move on by the time I had my phone camera ready to snap a shot. 

My body seemed to be telling me to slow down a little, so I decided to give the gym a day off and instead spend some of my energy working on the trail, since Joe was willing and available to help with chainsaw work. 




This is a view of the back side of the dam as seem from the new trail in the woods. 








Joe filled in this drainage ditch with rock and then crush-run because it has been getting deeper and deeper due to erosion. 




Karen arrived and we soon hit the trail, my new path and the usual road route we take.  The wind had picked up and it really looked like rain.  Sure enough, rain was now on the forecast, to start in 45 minutes.  Darn weatherman had it wrong this morning.  So, we kept our ride short, but pushed the pace a little bit. 

We made it back without getting wet, but by the time I got home it started to rain.  Just a little pop-up shower.  But the strange thing was that the sun was shinning while it rained.  The photos I took didn't show it so I took this (video) and here is a still shot from it. 



I drank tea to warm up and worked on the jigsaw puzzle.  I think I only got ten pieces in an hour.  Ugh!

I was going to take a longer walk after dinner, but Rose started following us so I turned back when I got to Snead.